Design

Wednesday, 29 July 2015

Hey I'm back....I've taken a little time off just to relax and enjoy the summer. Hope you're all having a good one. We're currently experiencing a heat wave, but other than that we've had great weather here (just north of Toronto).

This post is for all of those who have tired, old worn-out cushions on their outdoor furniture. That's what these white cushions once were.

If you follow me you know that last year I purchased a pergola for the space, and a few months ago, got these amazing striped cushions. Problem was, the cushions on our patio set (also from the SuperStore end-of-the-season sale a few years ago) were originally dark brown and had faded. I was never a big fan of the colour, but liked the style of the furniture and it was on sale. Anyway, I was looking at them one day and thought, how do I change the colour to white without slipcovering (too expensive) and without buying new ones (hard to find the exact size and not in the budget). Of course, my go-to is always to paint the fabric (I've done this before here and here) so I had some latex paint left over from another project and decided to try it...AND it worked! Now they are a little crunchy but they look amazing, and I couldn't be happier about this quick fix. They're also super water proof now so that's a bonus. Hey, it saves me buying new ones or having slipcovers made.

Here's the crazy ugly before pic. (Oh and the floors have to be repainted too...I need to find a really durable outdoor deck paint).

More of my backyard/pergola updates coming soon...have a great day!

(This post is also for Rana my crazy friend/follower who had worn out canvass runners. She remembered my post about painting fabric and painted her sneakers instead of throwing them out. Glad I inspired you Girl!)

Friday, 3 July 2015

I've been moving things around again...which really is a daily thing for me...sometimes it's hard for me to keep up with all the changes and to remember what I've blogged about. Way back at Christmas I made some changes to our family room. I originally had two couches in this room both from the Steven & Chris line (see below), and decided to move one couch and try the two chairs in front of the fireplace instead. I've always loved this look, and when it was time to accommodate the Christmas tree, I decided it was time to make the change. I've had these Ikea chairs for about 10 years now but had one in my son's room and one in storage.

My original colour scheme for this house was tone on tone greys with some taupe/oatmeal. We had just come out of a very stressful time in our lives when we moved into this house, and I wanted the colour scheme to be very calm. I've always had a more colourful palette in my previous houses but went for a more modern relaxed style here. We had always lived in century homes too, so this was a really big change for me moving into a new home. I like all styles and tend to be eclectic, so really, whatever I like I put in a room. I like rooms to have a relaxed but sophisticated look...at least that's what my friends tell me. To add to the calm feeling, I also wanted a space with symmetry and one that was clutter free. Just now (after 5 1/2 years) I'm gradually changing things up and adding more black & white and some colour into my home.

I also love gardening so it's very important to me to have garden elements in my spaces... you can see the urns, orbs, lanterns and ferns. I also turned my books so the pages are out, which compliments the colour scheme and although it can be frustrating to find a book (just ask my husband), it contributes to a very calm room. I love them turned this way and I'm not turning them back!

The sideboard below was originally in our dining room in this house, and I had it in our kitchen in our previous house. It is actually an island from Home Depot that I purchased about 10 years ago so not available now but similar to this one. I love the industrial farmhouse look so I just added the baskets which I got from Target, sadly no longer here in Canada. I did see some very similar ones at the SuperStore recently. The rug also came from SuperStore a few years ago. (I actually put two small, very inexpensive rugs together to make a larger rug...hey, it works).

I also lightened up the room. It was Metropolis by Ben Moore and it's now Edgecomb Grey, also Ben Moore. I really like both colours but needed it a bit lighter. I kept the darker colour on the fireplace wall to add some drama, and to hide the fact that the walls flanking the fireplace are different sizes...one is hiding plumbing.

One of the first changes I made when we moved into this house was changing out the "boob" light that was in this room. Why do builders put those in? (I know they're cheap but why not have a point of difference, and be the builder that doesn't put in boob lights? Now there's an idea!) And yes, all the ceilings have stucco on them... one day I'll have to take it off. I love painted ceilings and have always had ceilings that were painted a different colour than my walls, so this is hard for me to have the stucco. One thing I've learned is, when you have floors and ceilings you don't really like in a space, you need to really focus more on the walls.

In other news: my stairs have been painted! And since I had my paint and paint brush out, I painted some fabric again. I've gone completely mad with painting fabric...I'll post this soon (like not six months from now).Have a good weekend! And Happy 4th of July to all my American readers!